Motivation vs. Inspiration

It might seem like a subtle, insignificant distinction, but motivation and inspiration are 2 very different things, and I think a lot of people are looking for the wrong one when looking to make a healthy lifestyle change and it’s keeping them stuck.

Here is one super powerful shift you can make that will help to make all the difference in your success!

The #1 reason I see people fail in maintaining healthy lifestyle changes they’re looking to make, is they don’t have big, powerful reasons to stay the course when temptation strikes – and it always does.

Say for example you want to consistently eat nutrient-dense foods, and exercise a few times a week. You did great all week, but then the weekend rolls around and you find yourself eating slices of cake at a birthday party, drinking cocktails and eating fried foods at a girls night, and taking 4 days off in a row from the gym.

The next thought that’s common to have is: I’ll start again on Monday, I just need more motivation and I’ll stay strong next time!

That – right there. Motivation.

Motivation is external, inspiration is internal.

Motivation is the push, inspiration is the pull.

Motivation is temporary, inspiration is permanent and effortless.

Motivation is the things you think you should do or that you’re supposed to do, inspiration is about being called to act because you’re in direct alignment with your potential and emotional desires.

When I try to motivatemyself, 9 times out of 10 I’m pushing myself to do something I don’t really care about or truly want to do.

When I am inspired, I have to hold myself back from going too crazy overboard because I’m naturally SO drawn to take action.

People are often amazed at my “willpower” to not eat unhealthy foods regularly (probably 90+% of my diet is home/scratch made food).

Guess what? It’s not willpower.

And I didn’t always eat this way. I ate nearly 100% processed foods until after college! And even then at first I considered powdered mashed potatoes a vegetable, and once I did start eating real veggies I’d only eat them if they were covered in cheese. Gotta start somewhere!

My huge diet change didn’t happen overnight. My wakeup call came when my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Until then I thought of food as “this will make me fat” vs “this won’t make me fat.” I was relying on my willpower hardcore, I was constantly stressing and obsessing about food and my body, and it felt like a constant battle of needing more motivation to stay strong.

With that diagnosis came my inspiration. I started looking at food in a whole new way, respecting my body and what I put in it, and thinking about my life and future to naturally and effortlessly move toward what was most important to me.

I developed such a big, emotionally driven WHY for myself and my life that the thought of fast food or processed, chemical-filled foods weren’t even appealing to me anymore.

Instead of trying to follow harsh rules I set for myself on what I was allowed/not allowed to eat based on trying to weigh a certain amount, I was now making mindful choices coming from a place of body respect and kindness, with my WHY top of mind.

I am here to make a HUGE difference in people’s lives, I want to live as long as possible to help as many people as possible. I want to be a 90-year-old woman traveling in the world!

Now it’s your turn to discover your deeper inspiration so you don’t have to rely on temporary motivation.

ACTION: To get YOUR juices flowing onto your why/inspiration:

Journal: What are all of my goals for my health & wellness? (list them all out, non-judgemental)

Go through each of your goals, one at a time, and write out why it’s important to you. What will be better in your life if you achieved that goal? What would be different? How would your life change? What might be the cost of not making changes now?

Next, go through each of the answers you just wrote, and ask yourself the same questions AGAIN but to your new, deeper responses. This will help you to keep digging deep to the root of WHY you want what you want.

So for example, your initial goal of “lose weight” > might turn into > “If I lost weight, I’d have more confidence” > which could turn into > “With more confidence, I’d have a better social life because I’d go out more, I’d feel comfortable dating and maybe find my future husband, and I’d do better at work because I wouldn’t be afraid to speak up.” > which could turn into > “With a better social life I’d have a more fulfilling life, getting married would make me so happy, and doing better at work would get me more money to travel the world which I’ve always wanted to do.” etc…

See how it got deeper and more emotionally driven?

Once you finalize your WHY – it can be a couple sentences, some bullets, whatever you want – write or type it up, make it look all pretty, and hang it up where you’ll see them every day so whenever you walk by it, you can read it in your head or say it out loud.

That part is KEY!

Get this emotional inspiration drilled into your being. Let it help guide you to make decisions to get where you want to be.

If you have tried to reach your health and wellness goals unsuccessfully in the past, I’d love to help you get un-stuck, overcome your obstacles, and see some real change! Submit your application to chat with me for a free strategy session here.